Intro to the D2 Files and File Guide/Tutorial Masterlist

[Nefarius]

The following file lists pertain to Blizzard files only.

File Guides

Armor.txt by Kingpin et al. [ex Nefarius] (accurate)
AutoMagic by Quatl (accurate)
AutoMap.txt by Red Havoc (accurate)
CharStats.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
CubeMain.txt by Myhrginoc [ex Nefarius] (accurate)
DifficultyLevels.txt by Joel et al. [ex Nefarius] (accurate) [updated by Nefarius, 11th Jan., 2007)
Gems.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
Hireling.txt by Drac0 and Ric Faith (accurate)
Inventory.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
ItemRatio.txt by Ulmo (accurate)
ItemStatCost.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
ItemTypes.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
Levels.txt by Kingpin [ex. Nefarius] (accurate)
LvlMaze.txt by Myhrginoc (accurate)
LvlPrest.txt by Xenast (accurate)
LvlSub.txt by I_only_pressed_Esc (accurate)
MagicPrefix.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
MagicSuffix.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
Misc.txt by Kingpin and Ric Faith (accurate)
Missiles.txt by Nefarius and Brother Laz (accurate)
MonEquip.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
MonLvl.txt by Kingpin (accurate)
MonProp.txt by cla$$ics (accurate)
MonSeq.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
MonSounds.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
MonStats.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
MonStats2.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
MonType.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
MonUMod.txt by 54x and Red Havoc (accurate)
NPC.txt by Nefarius [ex Phrozen Heart and Mordini] (accurate)
ObjGroup.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
Objects.txt by Nefarius (should be more or less accurate)
PetType.txt by HellSpawn (accurate)
Properties.txt by Joel (revised by Myhrginoc 8/22/06)
QualityItems by Quatl (accurate)
Runes.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
SetItems.txt by Alkalund & Char (revised by Myhrginoc 6/5/06)
Sets.txt by Alkalund (revised by Myhrginoc 10/19/07)
SkillDesc.txt by Ric Faith (accurate)
Skills.txt by Nefarius (accurate) [FINALLY]
States.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
SuperUniques.txt by 54x and Red Havoc (accurate)
TreasureClassEx.txt / TreasureClass.txt by Nefarius (accurate)
Weapons.txt by Kingpin and Ric Faith (accurate)
UniqueItems.txt by Nefarius (accurate)


Hardcoded reference tables:
These files are lookup tables that link hardcoded data with the txt files, you need to edit the code to edit these

ArmType.txt - lookup table for armor type (light, heavy, medium) codes.
BodyLocs.txt - lookup table for equipment cells codes
Colors.txt - lookup table for in-game color shift codes
CompCode.txt - lookup table for DCC Animation Component Subtype IDs (this can be expanded)
Composit.txt - lookup table for DCC Animation Component IDs
CubeMod.txt - lookup table for cube specific quality codes (and gem types)
CubeType.txt - lookup table for cube specific item codes
ElemTypes.txt - lookup table for damage type codes
Events.txt - lookup table for event codes
HitClass.txt - lookup table for weapon hitclass codes
HireDesc.txt - lookup table for hireling subtype codes
LowQualityItems - lookup table for the grades of crude items
MissCalc.txt - lookup table for the Missiles.txt Calc Functions
MonAi.txt - lookup table for the unit AI codes
MonMode.txt - lookup table for monster animation mode codes
MonPlace.txt - lookup table for hardcoded DS1 enemy setups
ObjMode.txt - lookup table for object animation mode codes
PlayerClass.txt - lookup table for class codes
PlrMode.txt - lookup table for player animation mode codes
SkillCalc.txt - lookup table for the Skills.txt Calc Functions
StorePage.txt - lookup table for vendor item pages (weapons 1, weapons 2, armor, misc and magic)
WeaponClass.txt - lookup table for weapon classes.


No 1.10+ Fileguides
These files need to be documented for 1.10, most have 1.09 file guides, but better safe then sorry.

Belts.txt
Books.txt (will be written by Nefarius)
Experience.txt (ditto)
LvlTypes.txt (there should be a guide)
LvlWarp.txt (there should be a file guide for this one too)
MonProp.txt (Now on Jeff's to-do list)
ObjType.txt (controls the graphics used by objects, a la 1.00-1.09 MonType.txt)
Overlay.txt (ditto)
PlrType.txt (controls the animation used by characters)
RarePrefix.txt
RareSuffix.txt
Shrines.txt (most fields except duration and reload are just reference)
Sounds.txt (never had a fileguide, in any version)
SoundEnviron.txt



Other

Gamble.txt - this is just a list of item codes from Weapons, Armor and Misc that are available for gambling.
MonPreset.txt - this is a softcoded object type 1 table for DS1 map object index, the first column controls the Act, the second the unit (from monstats, superuniques and monplace).
UniqueAppelation.txt - the extra suffix of a unique monster name (e.g. Blood Wing the Quick), this is just a list of string indexes.
UniquePrefix.txt - the prefix of a unique monster name (e.g. Blood Wing the Quick), this is just a list of string indexes.
UniqueSuffix.txt - the suffix of a unique monster name (e.g. Blood Wing the Quick), this is just a list of string indexes.



Unused

AiParams.txt - a txt file they wrote in WordPad that documents some AIs as they were in 1.00, but they gave up after the mummy.
Arena.txt - This file was intended for the unused duel-arena. The game accesses this and actually does count the amount of kills/deaths in PvP, but there is no way to access this without code editing.
CharTemplate.txt - Blizzard intended there to be several templates of a char (a la Infinity Engine games), this file initially was supposed to control the starting stats of the sub types of characters, the starting level, act and even skills they had...
MonItemPercent.txt - formerly defined the chance to drop organs, hearts, treasureclass and component items, this is no longer used as of 1.07.
MonName.txt - unused, originally had boss names (unrandom ones ), this was scrapped and left in the game files.
UniqueTitle.txt - unused, originally bosses had titles assigned to their names, like King, Chief, Prince etc.



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MPQ Archives

I figured this was not recorded anywhere (at least I can't recall it being recorded anywhere) on the forums.

Patch_D2.mpq - the files modified since the release of the expansion (v 1.07) (or since the release of the game if you're playing classic D2, v. 1.00), hence the newest files are _always_ here.

D2Char.mpq - character graphics (DCC and COF) (do not replace this file with the one from the D2 Play Disk if you have the expansion installed, it contains essential data for LoD to run that is added at installation time)

D2Data.mpq - everything from TXTs, TBLs, monster, missile, overlay, object DCC files and COF files, to map files (DS1, DT1) to UI and item graphics (DC6), and basically everything not found in the other MPQs.

D2Exp.mpq - like D2Data.mpq, just that this was added in the expansion, this also contains the character graphics for Assassin and Druid classes and new classic char gfx (for class specific items).

D2Music.mpq - the wav music that is streamed during gameplay, originally resided on the D2C play disk.

D2SFX.mpq - the wav sound effects used by classic D2.

D2Speech.mpq - the localized speech wav files, mainly NPC and character speech.

D2XTalk.mpq - the localized speech wav files, for the expansion.

D2XMusic.mpq - the LoD wav music streamed at runtime (on the LoD disk). Copy this file to your Diablo II directory to eliminate almost all CD-ROM accesses, for some reason this is not done by the installation program.

D2XVideo.mpq - the LoD cinematics (on the LoD disk).

D2Video.mpq - the D2C cinematics (on the D2C Cinematics disk)







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If you have a submission let me know via a PM (submit the guide via PM or post it in GMM). Do not post in this thread please.

If you are working on a fileguide please inform me so that I can post your "to do list" in this annoucment, this is to avoid possible conflicts

[Nefarius]

Tutorials

Mod Management

The Direct Switch by Fusman
BIN Files With v1.08 and Beyond by ThresholdRPG
Batch Files by The Evil Englishman
Running Multiple Versions of Diablo II by Myhrginoc

Items

Creating Sets v1.10 by Hellfire
Creating Single Use Potions by Talonrage
Changing Potions to restore %age HP/MP/etc.. by Ric Faith
Spawning A Random Item From A Recipe by Acromatic Aria
Realm-Rune Words in SP, Boss and Drop Mods noobatorial by Nefarius
Making characters start with an unique item by Nefarius
Mercenary Only Items / True Carry 1 Items by tsuru
Creating New Uniques by Doombreed-x
How to make a Magic Find display counter by I_only_pressed_Esc
Making a Group Item Modifier by reiyo_oki
Creating Sets by Hellfire
Creating Single or Multi Page Clue Scrolls by I_only_pressed_Esc
Simulated Hidden Sets by Kraj
Charms as Set Items by Joel Falcou
Extending the Limit of 3 Automods by Kingpin
New Magical Modifiers by Drackin
Items To Morph Characters Into Monsters by LiNkIn_PaRk
Skill Point and Stat Point Items by RagnarokES
Spawnable Socketed Throwing Weapons by reddot
Temporary Stat-Altering Potions by Drackin
Creating Items from Corpses by mouse
How to Change a Chest to drop a certain Item by Yanou

Skills

How to create a Poison Bolt skill by Demon9ne
Creating New Passive Skills by GuyAskingQuestion
Formulae Guide by Xeno and Kingpin
Multi-Homing Missiles by Darque
New Auras by Chaotic Death
Skill Text Displays With Mouse-Over Hover by Drackin
Create your own custom portals by Kingpin

Monsters and NPCs

New Summonables by Thulsadoom
Adding new monsters with new tokens by I_Burner
Character as Monsters by TheMadModder
New Ranged/MonsterHirelings by inhalantnut
Summoning Multiple Golems by RagnarokES
Make Monsters Use the Quest Treasure Class by Kingpin
New Hirelings by RagnarokES
New Superuniques by Paul Siramy
How To Make Player Specific Hirelings by I_only_pressed_Esc
Spawning the Butcher by Nefarius
Monster Sequence Tutuorial by Kingpin
Matching New Monster Animations to an AI by I_Burner
Lycanthropic Barb Hirelings by reddot
Changing Monster Base Colors by Acromatic Aria
Having Monsters Drop More Than 6 Items by pmpch
Giving Items to Minions/Monsters by Joel & Kingpin

Maps

Creating new static automaps for towns by Volf
How To Edit DT1 File Palettes by BlackHeart
Making A New Preset Level by Xenast
Tutorial Dt1 Exercise 1 - Replacing tiles in an existing dt1 by Volf
Adding ANY Monsters and ANY Objects to a DS1 by Paul Siramy
Moving NPCs by Kingpin & afj666
Randomizing Levels by Kingpin
Linking Outdoor Areas Together by Kingpin
Creating Multi-Level Dungeons by SiLenTx
How to Change Dungeon Types by Alkalund
Adding A Level With AFJ666s Extended Plug-in v1.01 by ArCh4Ng3

Graphics and Media

Creating New Inventory Graphics with ImageReady by Shuffles
Adding New Music by Mentor
Adding Sounds To A Monster-Character by Mentor
Creating A Custom Health/Mana bubble by I_only_pressed_Esc
Creating Custom Loading Videos by I_only_pressed_Esc
Creating Specific menu screens by I_only_pressed_Esc
Warcraft III Units in D2 by SBM
DC6 Item Conversions by Joel Falcou
Item Graphic Conversion Tutorial by Wafflemaster
Making D2 Palettes by Phrozen Heart
DC6 Files by DigiBo
Lighting Tutorial by Ray K
Using New Graphics for the Town Portal by SBM
Monster Converting Tutorial by Alkalund

Code Editing

Hex Editing Tutorial by Foxbat
Diablo II Code Editing Tutorial by Sir_General and Myhrginoc






In Preparation
If you're writing something, tell me so I can add it here

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Suggested Tutorials
These are currently only suggestiosn grabbed from the Suggest a Tutorial Thread. If you feel up-to-the-task, what are ya waitin for

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Thanx to Myhrginoc for organizing the list.

[kingpin]

Arena.txt - for the unused duelling arena that never got implemented, might be loaded by code (arena code does exist in d2), but not useable in general.

Arena.txt is actually used by code. Look in CE forum for my post. If you watch the loader code (or just check your mod dir you will even find the arena.bin file there).

Arena.txt handle the points rewared in duels and the code track all events in game related to death (very useful for modders who want to do anything related to this, or add killcounters).

[Nefarius]

Yea, arena is accessed and used. Though the fact a bin file exists doesnt mean the game uses a file (in general), there is a bin image for MonItemPercent but this is not accessed by the game (in fact the game just reuses that bit of RAM later for some SFX related thing, the bin image RAM is accessed by d2sound.dll).

[Myhrginoc]

It turns out all the tutorial links still pointed to our old site. The links are updated now. We apologize for the serious inconvenience!

[xpiiz1]

Nothing's found....

[Freiik]

the knowledge base has changed since the move, you have to go look for yourself.
https://d2mods.info/index.php?ind=reviews

[Drac0]

Been getting back into a little modding lately so I've been searching around the filecentre. Just wondering if it's possible to get all the file guides/tutorials for a DII version packed into a single download?

It is a pain in the butt having to download these one at a time, be much better to also be able to download all of them for one version in a single file.

Cheers,
Drac0

[onyx]

The file guides and tutorials are articles, they aren't for download at all. They are not files that you need to have saved on your computer. If you so wish, you can always copy them into a text editor of your choice.

[Drac0]

The file guides and tutorials are articles, they aren't for download at all. They are not files that you need to have saved on your computer. If you so wish, you can always copy them into a text editor of your choice.

I have been don't worry

Without a net connection @ home I need copies of them for reference. Been so long since I've modded I've forgotten a lot & never really did get into it after 1.09.

Cheers

[Xenast]

Couple of dead links here in the fileguides:

ItemStatCost.txt
Working Link: https://d2mods.info/index.php?ind=revie ... w&iden=448

MonProp.txt
Working Link: https://d2mods.info/index.php?ind=revie ... w&iden=453

States.txt
Working Link: https://d2mods.info/index.php?ind=revie ... w&iden=452

[Volf]

Updated the broken links in first post

[MarcoNecroX]

thanks for fixing again

[Enterich]

Thanks for the guide!

For me , as a newbie, im missing one important thing: where to find the *.txt files?

Im looking for ItemRatio.txt , opened any mpq and tryed the search function with the mpq viewer... i can only find ItemRatio.bin not the text file.

Can someone help me maybe?

[kingpin]

Thanks for the guide!

For me , as a newbie, im missing one important thing: where to find the *.txt files?

Im looking for ItemRatio.txt , opened any mpq and tryed the search function with the mpq viewer... i can only find ItemRatio.bin not the text file.

Can someone help me maybe?

If you dont find the file in patch.mpq you should look into expansion.mpq.

[srcxcv]

In the passive skills guide kb/viewarticle?a=292 by guyaskingquestion, he mentions entering information under the "str long" "str short" etc. keys; however, no such keys exist in patchstring.tbl, and there don't appear to be any other .tbl files in the D2 directory. Am I missing something?

Also, how do you actually get the tbl files back into the mpq archives?

[Volf]

Look in string.tbl located in d2data.mpq and expansionstring.tbl in d2exp.mpq

[Burn]

Thx!

[Leet_Jumper]

Hey there
thanks for the guides
so I was trying to edit the weapons txt file to get rid of the weapons that I have no use for in the shops
At first I tried changing vendormin and vendormax, I even changed the vendormagicmin/max/lvl to match the originally available weapons, but no dice ;/
Then after reading the guide to weapons.txt, I tried messing around with the spawnable column to disable unwanted weapons
Every time I open the trading screen for charsi the game breaks
Then I tried putting the freshly extracted weapons.txt (no touching I swear) file from both d2data then d2exp dpqs (one by one), and to my surprise the game also breaks!!
Any idea what's going on?
And generally, I suppose I should always use txt files from d2exp and ignore those on d2data, no?
Any help is appreciated

[Cypress]

Hey there
thanks for the guides
so I was trying to edit the weapons txt file to get rid of the weapons that I have no use for in the shops
At first I tried changing vendormin and vendormax, I even changed the vendormagicmin/max/lvl to match the originally available weapons, but no dice ;/
Then after reading the guide to weapons.txt, I tried messing around with the spawnable column to disable unwanted weapons
Every time I open the trading screen for charsi the game breaks
Then I tried putting the freshly extracted weapons.txt (no touching I swear) file from both d2data then d2exp dpqs (one by one), and to my surprise the game also breaks!!
Any idea what's going on?
And generally, I suppose I should always use txt files from d2exp and ignore those on d2data, no?
Any help is appreciated

You should use txt files from patch_d2.mpq, not d2exp or d2data. Patch_d2.mpq has the latest, most updated txt files, whereas d2exp/d2data would have early expansion and classic txt files, which probably won't work with most newer game versions.